


You Always Do

by katalizi



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Philinda Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 15:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5502080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katalizi/pseuds/katalizi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Philinda Secret Santa, a gift for professortennant!!!</p><p>Prompts were 'rescue, reunion, jacket, forehead, hot chocolate'. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Always Do

It was a cold and wet darkness that enveloped Phil Coulson as he made his way silently through the dank labyrinth of the Hydra base, his every sense heightened, his pistol out and at the ready. At his back he could feel the comforting presence of Daisy who followed a few paces behind with steps so light that if he didn’t already know she was there, he would never have known he was being followed. He heard a faint noise just ahead and froze, Daisy following suit, every muscle in his body taught with anticipation as his breath came light and shallow. When nothing more seemed to follow the sound he relaxed minutely, shaking his head at himself slightly. Even now, seconds after the fact, he wasn’t entirely sure he had heard anything at all or if it was just his current state of mind that was lending itself to create enemies out of shadows. He was wired, a tightly coiled spring ready to burst at any moment, the type of mindset that could usually be made to work in situations such as these but that was currently doing more harm than good. He stopped in his tracks and sighed slightly. This was too personal. He should never have come, he was emotionally too close to this op. Well. At least Daisy didn’t know it.

He nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt her gauntleted hand gently come to rest on his shoulder, her voice whispering past his ear a second later. “It’ll be okay, Phil. We’ll find her.”

So much for that, then.

The words bubbled out before he could really get a hold of them. “It’s my fault this has happened …”

“Please, not this again.”

“I should’ve been with her —”

“Then you’d be caught, too.”

“ — or at least been better —”

“ _Coulson_!” hissed Daisy, her grip tightening almost painfully on his shoulder. He immediately snapped his mouth shut and for a few long moments the two of them stood stock still, waiting, before the finally saw two mooks strode past casually the junction at the end of the hallway, neither of them bothering to look down into the deep darkness that shrouded Phil and Daisy for the moment. Once their thudding footsteps faded Daisy let loose a relieved sigh and dropped her hand from his shoulder, coming to stand just in front of him so he could see her face.

“I get it,” she said. “May’s been missing for a week and so far it’s just been one dead end after another, but I can tell you the only thing that is of no use what-so-ever right now is this self flagellation that’s going on here.” She paused and up close Phil could see how truly tired she was. The whole S.H.E.I.L.D. team had been running themselves ragged the past week, desperately struggling to find some trace of their missing agent … of their missing _friend_. “We’re mounting a rescue mission here. This is not the time to go over ‘what ifs?’ ”

Phil nodded tightly. It was only a matter of time before exhaustion and fear started to really cloud his judgement. “You’re right. I … I just need to find her.” If this was any other time, with any other person, he would’ve hated the vulnerability that laced his voice. As it was, he just couldn’t care. He just wanted her back.

Daisy pressed her lips together sympathetically. “And we will, we just —”

Suddenly their whispered conversation was interrupted by the unmistakable sounds of two large men getting the stuffing kicked out of them.

Phil and Daisy exchanged a brief, startled look before charging down to the end of the hallway and skidding around the corner, following the path the two mooks had previously travelled. Then they both stopped and stared in awe.

The two massive men were laying unconscious at the feet of one Melinda May.

It only took a glance for Phil to realise that even though she’d just taken out two men more than double her size, Melinda wasn’t in the best condition. He was hurdling down the hallway and was at her side before the thought had fully formed, his warms hands gentle against the bare, cold skin of her arms. She looked up at him, dazed, her hair soaking wet, her arms covered in bruises and welts, and a large gash arcing its way across the crown of her head.

“Phil?” Her voice might’ve sounded horse, but it still carried strength. He found that he couldn’t answer just yet, his voice, his heart and his mind still not quite in sync just yet after relief and joy of seeing Melinda again, so he instead focused on holstering his weapon and shrugging out of his fur-lined jacket that he quickly handed to her. She smiled faintly at the gesture, the barest curl at the corner of her lips, and slipped into his jacket with a grateful sigh. “Nice … it’s still warm,” she commented softly, glancing at him. Phil felt a sudden jolt to his heart that, unlike the strain and stress of the previous week, felt rather welcome.

Daisy sidled up to them, already on comms with the team that was waiting outside. “We have her, we have May. Exiting in five.” She switched her attention to Melinda, grasping at her arm, eyes bright. “Are you okay?”

Melinda tipped her head to one side in a noncommittal way. “As well as to be expected,” she said.

Phil felt a rush of guilt. “I’m sorry we took so long.”

“Don’t be,” said Melinda. “They’ve moved me at least a dozen times so far, so I’m surprised you found me at all.”

“Moved you?” frowned Daisy. “Why?”

At this Melinda’s smile became a little more wolfish. “Because the moment they turned their backs, I’d escape. You think they’d learn, but so far all they’ve been doing is chasing me from one Hydra base to the next — so much so, that they haven’t even had time to ask me any questions.” Suddenly her attention was diverted from them to something moving further down the hallway. “Oh, speaking of … here’s the backup.”

Phil turned around to see five more heavily armed men appear at the end of the hallway, but before he could even think of reaching for his pistol Daisy raised her arms and suddenly all five men were thrown backwards by some invisible force, every one of them unconscious before they hit the ground.

“Okay, I’m already sick of this place,” said Daisy, lowering her hands.

“I think we all are,” agreed Phil, wrapping one arm around Melinda’s waist as he pressed up next to her, trying desperately to ignore the small tremors that ran through her body every now and then. “Let’s go home.”

Their exit was much cleaner than their entry and before they knew it they were back on Zephyr One, Daisy quickly making herself scarce while Phil and Melinda ended up in the medical bay, Melinda grabbing some towels to dry herself while Phil rummaged around for supplies. Wordlessly Melinda settled herself down on the bed and waited for Phil the help dress her wounds, and this passiveness suddenly had Phil a hundred times more worried about her well being right then, than he’d been over the past week. Only real pain and exhaustion would result in Melinda not even pretending to put up a fight at being fussed over.

Phil came to stand by her bedside, taking one of her arms gently and beginning to clean and dress her wounds. After working in silence for a few minutes he finally managed to get out, “How bad was it? Really?”

He felt, rather than saw her sigh. “I’ve been through worse,” she said evasively, and Phil felt his stomach clench. “But really, all I want now is a long shower, some hot chocolate and a deep sleep.”

Phil paused, surprised. “Hot chocolate?”

“It was all I could think about these past couple of days,” shrugged Melinda. “Getting out of those cold, damp bases and having some delicious hot chocolate. With little marshmallows and sprinkles.”

Despite everything Phil managed a soft laugh as he moved to her other arm. “Unfortunately I don’t think we have any on board.”

“I know we don’t,” she said. “But I do know you have a stash in your office, so that’s the first place I’ll be heading … after my shower, that is.”

“Don’t bother,” said Phil. “I’ll have it all ready for you in your own room the moment you’re done getting clean.”

“Oh, special treatment from the Director,” smiled Melinda jokingly. “You’ll have people thinking I’m all important.”

Phil froze at that, his hands falling from her head where he’d just finished dressing her head wound to his sides. “You are,” he said softly, looking deep into her eyes. “You are important. Melinda … to me, you’re the most important person in the world.” He hesitated, then reached up the gently ran the tips of his fingers through her still damp hair, tucking a few errant strands behind one ear. Her eyes fluttered closed at his touch and without really thinking about it the two of them leant closer until their foreheads touched.

After a moment Phil felt Melinda tilt her head up to softly catch his lips with her own. Her kiss was cool, but she was no longer trembling, though as Phil wrapped his arms around her and held her close he began to feel himself start to shake. As the kiss dissolved into lighter touches they refused to move even an inch away from each other. Phil felt Melinda’s arms tighten around his waist and pull him closer, her dangling legs tangling up in his just as she tucked herself against his chest with a contented sigh.

“I wasn’t worried,” he heard her murmur as he closed his eyes and simply held her. “I always knew you were coming for me. You always do.”


End file.
